Iran has warned it is prepared to retaliate against any fresh US or Israeli attacks by targeting critical energy infrastructure across the region, hours after the White House signalled that President Donald Trump was considering expanding military operations against Tehran.
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According to Iran's state-affiliated Tasnim News Agency, a senior security official dismissed reports of possible US and Israeli strikes on Iranian infrastructure as "a kind of madness". The official warned that Tehran had prepared "extensive response plans", including strikes on Israeli critical infrastructure and US energy infrastructure across the region. The report added that Iran's armed forces have both "the capability and the will" to carry out such attacks.
The warning came after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt accused Iran of violating last month's truce agreement and escalating hostilities. "President Trump is not going to stand by and allow this terrorist behavior to occur," Leavitt said. "Iran will continue to pay until they come to the table in, what President Trump deems, a meaningful way."
Earlier on Friday, Trump indicated that further US military action remained on the table, telling reporters at Camp David: "We just want to win" in Iran. He added, "We'll be hitting them very hard. You know, at some point they're going to say, 'We just can't take it anymore.'"
The exchange followed another day of rising tensions in the Gulf. Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed it had struck two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies. Iranian state media also reported that four other tankers had turned back.
Meanwhile, Kuwait said it intercepted Iranian drones that entered its airspace and were targeting military facilities hosting US forces. The country's defence ministry reported material damage caused by falling debris but said there were no casualties.
